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Military

Military figures, of course, dominate any list of people caught up in the experience of war. A few entered the American Civil War carrying memories of earlier battles in Mexico, Canada and along the American frontier, but most had no military experience at all. No matter; success in war would not depend on pedigree.

This major general won the Confederacy a series of victories and ascended to corps command in the Army of Northern Virginia before his hestiation at the Battle of Gettysburg began his downfall. Read more

James Garfield was a Republican Party politician from Ohio who was rapidly promoted to major general in the Union army in the early months of the Civil War, and later elected President of the United States. He was the second U.S. president to be assassinated. Read more